Begin to Breathe
by Ava Miranda Dakedavra
Summary: Hermione thinks that a larger-than-normal dog is nothing, when in actuallity, he's a gateway to a whole new life for her. She just...doesn't know that yet. And neither does his best mate, who he's attempting to set up with her. Oh, and he's not exactly a dog all the time either. But you probably guessed that already.
1. Awakened Pictures

**AU…eventual James/Hermione…I own nothing but the plot and whatever characters you don't recognize.**

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"Happy birthday to me…happy birthday to me…happy birthday, dear Hermione…happy birthday to me," she sang softly to herself, sitting on the back porch and looking at the plastic disk in her hands. She was looking between the disk and the leaves fluttering down from the trees a little bit away in the woods, sighing as her brown curls once again attempted to get in her face. She shot a glance back towards the window, where a man and a woman were chatting and watching television as their daughter talked on the telephone.

Hermione never knew who her real parents were. She'd never met them, and probably never would. All she had was their last name – "Granger" – and genetics, but all of her previous searches since she was ten to then were unsuccessful. So she gave up. They had given her away, she'd been unwanted, just like she was now.

The Hendersons had probably been nicer to Hermione when she was younger, as in before she could remember, but she highly doubted it. Their daughter, who was the same age as Hermione – or had previously been since Hermione had turned seventeen first – was relatively popular in their school, especially among boys. Hermione just wanted to lay low and slip through school unnoticed, but when you lived in the same house as Sofia Henderson and weren't as talented or pretty as her, you were easily subjected to verbal abuse. But she didn't care. She didn't care about most things, actually, not since she was a kid, somewhere around eleven.

Hermione looked over the woods again, blinking and straightening when she saw a rather large black dog looking back at her. It tilted it's head at her, stepping out through the denser trees and looking at her curiously as she stood and looked at it in the same fashion. It caught sight of the disk and stepped out eagerly towards her, crouching down and wagging its tail.

"You wanna play?" Hermione asked, feeling herself smile a little as it gave a bark. She threw it, watching as the dog bolted and jumped up to catch it. The dog brought it back and stood just out of arm's reach, still wagging its tail. She gave a chuckle and reached forward to grab the disk when it jumped out of the way, crouching again as she blinked at it.

"Hey, c'mon, give it," she laughed as it jumped away from her once more, repeating the process until she leapt forward and grabbed the disk, trying to wiggle it out of the dog's mouth as it held on persistently.

The dog suddenly let go and sent her onto her back, making her blink up at it before it began to slobber all over her face. She laughed and pushed it off, wiping the spit off on the sleeve of her sweater.

"'Ey! Get out of here! Go on, get!" a gruff voice called from the house, making the dog perk it's ears up and blink at the man on the porch. The dog looked back at Hermione before bolting, making her sigh and stand to walk back to the porch.

"He wasn't hurting me," she frowned at the man.

Paul Henderson only frowned at her, "I wasn't worried about you, I was worried about Susan's petunias."

"Ahh, yes, petunias do tend to bleed when rabid dogs tear at their flesh," she muttered as she went inside to go to her room, "No, wait, that's me."

"What was that?" Paul roared.

"Nothing, talking to myself, I'm insane, remember?" she quipped, rolling her eyes before she went in her room and shut the door. She sighed and slid down it, pouting at the near darkness of the room before standing again and pulling off the sweater.

She thought back to the dog. It was rather tame, hadn't jumped at her throat at least, and knew how to play fetch – or at least how to play fetch and then torment the human. But the strangest thing was that when the dog looked back at her after Paul told it to leave was that it looked like it had grinned and winked at her before running off. But that was impossible. Dogs didn't have the ability to grin or wink, at least not like it was promising to see her again later. It just…wasn't normal.

But, then again, many people believe that Hermione herself wasn't normal.

And in a way they were right.

She just didn't know it.

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**Chapter one! I hope you liked it. You can review or not, I don't care, but I'd appreciate it if you did.**

**Love,**

**Ava**


	2. Computers Out of Macaroni Pieces

**...Hi…I said all I wanted to last chapter for now…so bye….**

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Hermione slouched forward, contemplating putting her chin on her desk as she glanced at the clock. She sighed and looked around at the people who were still working on their assignment before deciding that she didn't really care about them and focused her attention outside the window. The sky was cloudy, but probably wouldn't rain – at least that's what she was hoping. Cars were going down the street, minding their business as she was stuck in the building. She'd be stuck there for a few more hours too, as Sofia had cheerleading practice and refused to let her use the car, although she could easily catch a ride with one of her friends. Hermione wondered if she'd rather wait on the bleachers or go ahead and walk the distance.

The bell rang, signaling her freedom as she stood and grabbed her bag as well as the assignment, settling it on the teacher's desk before walking out amidst the students.

Sitting on the bleachers, she looked out dully at the cheerleaders as they giggled and gossiped together. Sofia paid her no mind, just like Hermione paid her no mind as she pulled out _To Kill a Mockingbird_ and began to reread it for the umpteenth time. She looked up when she heard somebody scoffing, seeing the girl in the high ponytail sneering at her.

"Haven't you read that enough?" Sofia snorted, "Don't you get bored with it, Herms the Bookworm?"

"I dunno, don't you get tired of messing up your cartwheels?" she retorted back dully.

Sofia growled and flipped her ponytail, "At least I can do one!"

Hermione arched an eyebrow at her before shrugging, "Yeah, sure, half the time you can."

"You can't even do half of the things I do!"

Hermione stood and shoved her book into her bag, walking onto the field and throwing her stuff towards the gate, gaining the attention of two guys, one with shaggy black hair and the other with a light brown that had been tugged at many times. Looked like she'd be walking, she decided as she rolled out her shoulders.

Hermione flipped her way over to her bag, turning back and smirking at her as she glared. She picked her bag up and settled it on her back, walking past the boys.

"That was brilliant, what you did," the black headed one said, walking along beside her and grinning as she blinked at him. "Are you that athletic?"

She blinked at him and blinked back at his friend, who hung his head and winced at her. "Ahh…no."

"Oh," he blinked back before offering his hand, "I'm Sirius."

"About what?" she prompted, placing both hands on her bag.

"No, my name is Sirius. Like the star?"

"Oh, right," she arched an eyebrow at him, "Why are you talking to me?"

"See, we're being weird!" his friend snapped, "Now stop freaking her out and let's _go!_"

"Let me find out her name first!" he frowned back. He turned back to ask her this question, but she was gone, halfway down the sidewalk.

"That was smooth," his friend chuckled.

Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes, "I'm telling you – she's perfect for James."

"What, just because she can do a couple of flips and she can throw a Frisbee?" Remus blinked at him, "Sirius, that's barmy!"

"You can't tell because you're not a dog, but she's got this…vibe around her, and I swear to Merlin it matches James'."

"I'm a wolf," Remus replied dully.

"Whatever," he waved it away and walked down the sidewalk, the way the girl had gone, Remus rolling his eyes and walking the other way.

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**Remus does not believe in Sirius's matchmaking abilities. Or Sirius's cooking abilities. But that's another matter.**

**Love,**

**Ava**


	3. Smiles at the Moon Like He Knows Her

**I'm honestly trying to think of song lyrics that have anything to do with breathing. I might just give up somewhere along the line and post something half-way normal that doesn't have anything to do with repetitive bodily function.**

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"You're such a horrid person!"

Hermione set her head on the cabinet and repressed the groan, instead sighing before she turned around dully at Sofia. She had a high, pinched nose, her brown hair pulled back tight on her head. Hermione vaguely wondered why anybody thought she was pretty, as she continuously looked as though her face were being stretched because of her hairdo, but decided that now wasn't the time to be wondering that.

"Why?" Hermione asked dully, crossing her arms over her chest and arching an eyebrow as Paul and Susan turned their attention on them.

"You embarrassed me in front of my friends!" she practically shrieked.

"Try having no friends, nobody will be able to embarrass you in front of them," Hermione replied back monotonously before giving a little smirk at herself.

"You're so ungrateful!"

"For what?" Hermione felt the string break. "For being an orphan who was adopted by people with the _biggest_ egos and the _brattiest_ child? For trying to be ignored at school because heaven forbid I have friends that would only be scared off by _you?_ Excuse me then, for using sarcasm and wit in my weaponry, and for appearing to be _ungrateful_," she practically growled before striding out of the house before either Paul or Susan could get their say in, slamming the door and walking through the woods.

She glanced down at the dog walking along beside her, looking at her rather worriedly.

"Those people are evil and I never want to go back," she said, although she felt rather silly for talking to a dog. The dog gave a bark, sounding quite pleased at this, before grabbing her pants leg and attempting to steer her. She walked along behind it, getting soaked when it finally decided to rain.

A few hours later, Hermione was beginning to rethink her decision to stride out and never go back. After all, she'd left her books there. She slowed as they came to a house hidden away deep in the woods, the dog hopping up onto the porch and waiting for her patiently. She felt strange for coming to someone's home – their _purposefully secluded home_ – just on the whim of a dog.

But the dog didn't give her the option to argue, pushing the door open. Halfway through the doorway though, he began to change, growing into a young man a bit taller than her, with shaggy black hair. Her eyes widened and she backed away from him with a scream, making him whirl back around and curse as two other guys rushed to the scream.

"No, no, sweetie, don't scream, it's okay!" he tried to calm her down, grabbing her wrist to keep her from running away, "We're okay, we won't hurt you!"

"Let go of me!" she exclaimed, her eyes flashing dangerously at him.

"She's _Muggle?_" one gaped as the other gripped his black hair worriedly.

"Shit, Sirius, what'd you do?" he asked.

"Sirius?" Hermione blinked at him, "The star? The…dog star? You were the ruddy dog this whole time?"

"Uhhm," he winced and slowly took his hand back. "Yes."

She only gaped at him, her hands slowly creeping into her hair as she looked at him worriedly, backing off the porch and into the rain, "My brain hurts!"

"What did you do?" the guy repeated, slowly stepping out into the rain with her.

"I – I thought that – "

"Oh my god, you were a dog but now you're not!" Hermione cried as she slowly knelt into the ground and rubbed her face with her hands as the guy in the rain knelt down  
next to her and rubbed her back. "Why isn't anything making sense now?"

"Relax, okay, we won't hurt you," the guy beside her reassured before glaring at Sirius, "Him, however, we might hurt him."

"What's your name?" the brown haired guy asked calmly, although he was gripping onto Sirius's shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

"Hermione," she answered slowly.

"I'm James, that's Remus, and you apparently already know Sirius," James continued to glare at his friend. "How about we get you inside and start explaining?"

She looked over at him. He had hazel eyes guarded by black rimmed glasses, his black hair falling into his face. She nodded slowly, letting him help her up and lead her inside. She bit her lip and gripped her wet hair, watching as Remus dragged Sirius inside and James shut the door behind them.

"Why did you bring me here?" Hermione asked Sirius, making him wince and glance at James.

"Well, err, pet, there's a little – "

"No no no, don't call me 'pet,'" she frowned at him, "If that's _anybody_ in this room, it's you."

James snorted and Remus grinned at her while Sirius pouted.

"Well I'm sorry that I led you to the only place I could think of," he shrugged Remus off of him and crossed his arms over his chest, "Or were you planning on surviving all on your own in those woods?"

"It was better than staying there," she glared before looking back at James, "What's going on? Are you aliens or something? Is one of you the Doctor?"

"I know this isn't the time or place to say this, but I love that show," Remus said before leaning against the couch and nodding at James. "You do it. You've always been better at the charms."

"No!" Sirius exclaimed, "She has to know!"

"Sirius, she's Muggle – if we don't do it, the Ministry will be after us!" James snapped back before blinking slowly, "Actually…shouldn't they be here now?"

Remus looked over to Hermione as Sirius tilted his head at James.

"Hermione, who are your parents?" he asked.

She shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"What's your last name, is it theirs?" he stepped closer to her, making her back away into the wall worriedly.

"Yeah, Granger," she answered tentatively.

"Not a name I know," James muttered, shaking his head before arching an eyebrow at her, stepping even closer, "How old are you?"

"I just turned seventeen – why are you asking these questions?" she bit her lip.

"And – did anything happen when you were eleven? Anything…strange?"

"Ahh…I stopped being happy, I guess – I don't see how this is all relevant," she insisted.

He slowly pulled out a stick, holding it up for her to see, "I'll explain everything in a moment if you'll let me try something. It won't hurt, I promise."

"James!" Sirius yelped.

"Shush, Padfoot, I'm not," he waved him away, still looking at Hermione. "Just close your eyes and keep calm – clear your mind, alright?"

She stared up at him worriedly before nodding slowly, closing her eyes as he instructed before she felt something touch her temple. She tried to move away, but he quietly told her not to move. It slowly moved away and he stepped back, grabbing a little vial from Remus and putting a silvery mist into it. He walked over to a cabinet and held the vial in his mouth as he pulled out a silver bowl with a liquid skimming the top. He shoved everything off the coffee table with his foot, making Remus roll his eyes and frown at him and move to pick everything up as he set the bowl down. He poured the contents of the vial in the bowl before motioning Hermione over, gripping her arms.

"Alright, this won't hurt either, but it's rather disorienting," James said as Remus looked around for a place to set the stuff. Sirius took it from him and spilled it onto the couch, making his friend glare at him. "After this, if it's what I think, we'll explain everything to you, I promise."

"And if it isn't what you think?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

He let out a huff of air, "You'll forget this all happened, and the last memory you'll have is walking through the woods. No dog, nothing."

She stared up at him as he grabbed her hand and submerged it into the liquid with his. She gasped as they were sent tumbling through, Hermione gaping at James when their feet touched the ground. She opened her mouth to yell at him when he slapped his hands over her mouth and looked at her pointedly.

"When we get back, you can ask all the questions you want," he whispered, "Just let me watch, alright?"

She nodded slowly, letting him let go of her face and looking around at where they were. They were back at the Hendersons' house, although there were an abundance of red, orange and yellow leaves scattering across the ground. Hermione blinked when she saw a little girl raking the leaves, although a big smile was on her face. Her crazy brown hair was slipping out from under her cap, her jean jacket sleeves slipping over her hands and making her push them away. She threw the rake away and stepped back, taking a running start at the pile before jumping up and giving a happy scream before tumbling in the leaves.

"Tha-that's me," Hermione blinked, taking a few steps forward, "That's me!"

"Yes, now shush," he whispered.

"Are you having fun?" a voice asked, making the younger Hermione look up from her leaves and smile at the older woman.

"Yeah!" she said happily, spreading her arms out, "It's my birthday!"

"Happy birthday, then!" she smiled back, "Are your parents home?"

She lost the smile, "I dunno who my parents are. But Susan and Paul are here."

"Ahh," she nodded, "May I go inside?"

"Uh-huh," she smiled again before standing up and raking the leaves into a pile once more.

Hermione and James followed the older woman into the house, although she stopped tentatively at the door.

"A young birthday girl allowed me entry?" she said, "Is that alright?"

Paul stood from his recliner and frowned at her, "It depends – who are you?"

"Well, I'm Professor Minerva McGonagall, and I'm here to talk to you about Hermione Granger."

"What about her?" Susan questioned, looking at McGonagall dully.

"Well, she is a remarkable being – born with magical blood, and there is a school that will help her learn magic and how to control it," she smiled, "I know this is a lot to take in and that you must have a lot of questions, but – "

"She's not going," Paul interrupted.

"Wha-what?" McGonagall blinked at him, "But…she's magic. If you don't let her go to school then she won't know how to control it."

"I don't care – she's not going," he insisted.

"You don't understand – she _has_ to go, if she doesn't she'll – "

"Get out of our house!" Susan demanded.

McGonagall huffed before glaring at them, popping away and making the present Hermione flinch.

Susan glanced over at Paul, who nodded as she marched over to the door, "Get in here!"

They were then unceremoniously dumped on the floor in the present, James standing with a frown on his face as Hermione whimpered and curled up on the floor, covering her face with her hands.

"It's what I thought – somebody modified her memory and she wasn't allowed to go to school," James said before turning to Hermione and blinking, "Are you okay?"

"My brain," she cried.

"C'mon, up you get," Remus said, grabbing her arm and helping her up before moving her towards the couch. He sat down next to her, Sirius moving the stuff off the couch to sit by her as James began to set the bowl away. "Now, apparently you're a witch and you weren't allowed to go to school with us. There's this whole other world, filled with these creatures and it's just…great."

"Hogwarts teaches you how to use spells and how to make potions, and the creatures there are and the plants that are magical and even the history of magic," Sirius explained.

"Hermione," James said, crouching down in front of her, "If you want, we – okay, _Remus_ – can teach you. We can teach you magic, we can teach you about hippogriffs and – " he grinned and got a mad gleam in his eyes, "We can teach you how to fly and how to play Quidditch, if you want!"

She looked at him, her hands gripping her hair, "You're all bonkers…am I going to be bonkers too? Is that a _thing_ with wizards and witches? Do we all just have to be certifiably mad?"

"Get used to it, Hermione, we're all mad here," Remus grinned.

"I…I can't believe they hid that from me," she muttered, looking down at her hands, "They hid a part of me from me…." She groaned and rubbed her temples, squeezing her eyes shut, "Fine. Yes. Teach me, Senseis."

"Brilliant," Sirius grinned at her, making her frown at him a little.

"You have to do something, though," James frowned, standing, "You've got to go back to that place and act like you don't know anything, and every day after school you can come here and we'll teach you."

"No!" she stood, frowning at him, "I am not going back there!"

"Where are you going, then?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I can live in the woods," she shrugged.

"Ahh, no you can't," Remus grinned sheepishly at her, "One of the creatures we talked about lives here."

"Really?" she blinked at him, "What is it?"

Sirius, Remus and James shared glances at each other.

"She can't be prejudiced," Sirius shrugged.

Remus sighed, "A werewolf."

"Wow, really?" she blinked, "Those are real?"

"Yeah," he murmured, leaning further into the couch and averting his gaze.

"Have you ever seen it?"

"Umm, yeah," he said as she sat back down.

"Well what is it like?"

He looked up at her and flashed a grin, "Me."

She gaped at him before blinking and shutting her mouth, "That is so cool."

"You'd be the first to think that," he laughed, "But thanks for not screaming and running away."

"I tried that with him, it didn't work," she nodded over to Sirius, making the boys smile at her. She shook her head and looked back up at James, "I don't want to go back."

"Look, I understand that, I honestly do, but you have to let on like you aren't magic, and if you weren't magic you'd go back," he said, "I'm sorry."

She pouted up at him before sighing and standing, "Fine. But I won't like it!"

"We won't like it either," he smiled back, "Want one of us to walk you home?"

She bit her lip, glancing back at the door, "I have no idea where we are, so that'd be helpful."

James chuckled and opened the door for her, making her smile at him and the other two before they left.

"Wow, they have so much chemistry," Remus deadpanned before grinning at his friend's glare.

"Give it time, I know I'm right," Sirius insisted, stepping over the stuff on the floor and going upstairs. Remus glared after him before calling out.

"You could've _at least_ picked it up!"

"I do what I want, Remus!

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**THE TRUTH**

**IT HAS BEEN REVEALED**

**It's 1:45 AM and I have school in three days.**

**I DO WHAT I WANT READERS**

**I DO WHAT I WANT**

**Did you see all of those references I had in I was kind of proud of them :D**

**Love,**

**Ava**


	4. Two Jerks Playing with Matches

Hermione looked up from the sidewalk going from the school to her house and arched an eyebrow at the man who was rocking back and forth on his heels. He looked over dully and saw her, a huge grin stretching across his face as he walked over to her. She slowed her pace and looked at him warily as he got closer, making him shrug.

"James doesn't know where this place is, and Remus thinks it's awkward now because we've scarred you for life, and then they said something about me 'apologizing profusely' to you, but I can't remember what about," Sirius hummed before grinning at her sheepishly, "I really am sorry though. I thought you were a – well, you are one, but I thought you knew about it."

"It's…understandable, I guess," she said as she walked along beside him, "But how would you think I knew about…?"

"Well, you've got this…vibe," he shrugged, "I trusted you easily, and I don't do that to many people, and then I saw what a jerk that guy was and I decided that I'd stop by once or twice to make sure you'd be okay. And I was walking by here once with Remus and I saw you and I saw how bad the girl was. And you stormed out and I thought I could help and take you away and you'd be with a bunch of magical people. I just…didn't think you didn't know."

"It's not that common then?" she asked as they walked further and further down the sidewalk, "Not knowing?"

"No, it's common, it's just…when you're eleven, you're told and you're more often than not sent to get proper schooling. Except you didn't, and you even had the memory of McGonagall coming erased."

There was a long pause after that before she interrupted it.

"It's driving me mad. So many questions and not a lot of answers," she sighed, running a hand through her hair, an action that made Sirius blink at. "Why did they hide it from me, what could've happened, were my real parents like that? So many others that I can't even begin to ask."

"You never found your parents?" he asked as Hermione stared up at the sky, watching it begin to drop beads of water down.

"No – but I hunted for them for ages," she sighed and closed her eyes, "Another question. Why'd they give me up?"

"Sometimes I wish my parents had given me up for adoption," Sirius said in an attempt to cheer her up. "They were awful, like those people you live with, only I _knew_ I was related to them."

"At least you know," she shrugged.

"Maybe it's like, reversed with us," he hummed, making her glance up at him dully. "I know my biological parents, hated them, got practically adopted by James's parents. You hated your adopted parents and…okay, maybe it isn't reversed."

She blinked, "His parents adopted you?"

"_Practically_," he stressed, "I mean, my biological parents wouldn't let them. His mum though, she called both of us her sons, before all of that went down. It was second year when she said that first, and it just kind of blew my mind. She's a brilliant woman – you'll have to meet her."

"By the way, do you have any idea what I am doing today?" she asked.

He grinned brightly at her, "Yup! But it's a surprise!"

"Ugh, I hate surprises," she muttered.

He blinked at her. "You hate surprises?" he echoed.

"They're never very good ones – like when I was five and Sofia yelled surprise and threw my only doll's severed head at me, so I could be terribly biased on them."

"You only had one doll?"

She shrugged, still walking along dully, "I taped her back together though. She had a wicked choker, at least."

"Are you very optimistic or sarcastic?" he asked after a moment, "Because I can't tell."

"Mostly sarcastic," she shrugged as he led the way through the woods, "Rarely am I optimistic. Stubborn, determined, sarcastic, yeah, but I don't think optimistic is a good word choice."

He hummed and the rest of the walk was spent in silence, following Sirius along hidden trails and jumping over things his longs legs merely stepped over. Soon, though, they were in the house and Remus was already taking her backpack off of her shoulders and tossing it away, James grabbing her wrist and towing her in further.

"Wait, what're you doing?" she asked, attempting to put on the brakes once, but James only grinned wider at her and gave a sharper tug, making her stumble along.

"We talked about it, and decided that we couldn't just start off with magic when you had no way to use it," he grinned, facing her and holding her shoulders, looking down at her. "Now, this'll be weird, and it'll feel weird, but you've got to hold on to me and not let go until it's okay."

"Oh my god, what are you going to do to me?" she said, staring up at him with wide eyes as Remus chuckled.

"Nothing, it's just…weird when you haven't done it before."

"Done _what_ before?" she asked as he stood her in front of the fireplace, a hand still on her shoulder as he used the other to gesture as he talked.

"Well, it's called the Floo. What you do is, you take a bit of powder and throw it in the fire. When it turns green, you say the name _very clearly_ of where you want to go – but it has to be someplace with a fireplace that is connected to the Floo network. Make sense?"

"You lost me at Floo," she said worriedly, biting her lip and fidgeting with her fingers.

James sighed, leaning over her shoulder and grinning, "Watch Remus. If you need any further demonstration, you can watch Sirius. But you're going in with me."

"Watch, nothing to it," Remus began, taking a pinch of powder from a small pot on the mantle and tossing it into the fire. Hermione gaped as he stepped in and said, "Leaky Cauldron!" She covered her mouth with her hands as he left, Sirius and James grinning at her.

"Is he okay?" she asked, looking between the two.

"Yes – it's okay when it's green," Sirius said before looking thoughtfully at her, "Well, when it's in the Floo. I'm not sure about regular fire being green. That's sinister."

"Think you can handle it?" James asked.

"It is _fire_," she insisted, "Isn't there another way?"

"Well, there are several, but flying would take longer and I don't think you'd be comfortable with Apparation yet," James hummed, tapping his fingers against her shoulders. She fidgeted at the idea of going into a fire willingly, but he thought she was fidgeting because of him and dropped his hands. "We can try Apparation, if you want."

"What's that like?" she questioned.

"Like you're being sucked through a tube in the dark," Sirius supplied with a grin, making James frown at him.

"Can I just…walk wherever it is?" she winced, biting her lip again and tugging on the bottom of her jumper.

"You can't walk to the Leaky Cauldron," Sirius snorted before catching himself, "Actually, you can, but you have to get there through Muggle – is it London? I forget, we never go through there much."

"Hermione, I promise, you won't get hurt," James reassured, grabbing her hand and tugging her into the fire once it was green. He held onto her tight and Sirius smiled and waved at her, making her wince and look up at James to find that he was smiling too. "Leaky Cauldron!"

"Holy mother of all that is sane in the world, I am _never_ doing that again!" Hermione vowed once she was out, clutching onto a chair by the fireplace, Remus standing from said chair and looking at her worriedly before arching an eyebrow at James.

"We probably should've walked," he hummed dully, Sirius popping through and eyeing her curiously before chuckling and shaking his head.

"First time through the Floo, lass?" a man asked as Hermione took a deep breath and stood, running her hands through her hair nervously.

"And last," she muttered before shooting him a small smile before turning on James and Sirius and frowning, "You said it wouldn't hurt!"

"Well did it?" James argued.

"No, but it was bloody uncomfortable! Could've told me it'd feel like something was touching me!"

"You felt that?" James blinked at her curiously, "Huh. You're a weird one."

"James, we're just used to it – can you remember your first time through the Floo?" Remus asked.

He stared blankly at him before grinning, "Pfft, wow, no, I can't."

"Exactly – cut her some slack, she's new to this," he frowned at them before smiling at her, "Ready to go?"

"You mean this isn't it?" she blinked.

"Nope, c'mon!" Sirius began to bounce on his heels, James and Remus rolling their eyes at him and steering both him and Hermione out to the back door. She looked between the three when they came to a brick wall, wondering if this had all been some elaborate prank to fool her when Remus got out his wand – she'd been told it was a wand while James had been walking her back to the house – and began to tap some of the bricks in a seemingly random order.

She gaped when the bricks began to open up, the three boys grinning at her and gently leading her through as she looked around at the shops.

"Well?" Sirius asked excitedly, "What do you think?"

"Why didn't I get to do this when I was a kid?" she asked, making the three blink at her and wince, as it had been an unexpected question and one they didn't have an answer to.

"C'mon, this isn't mainly what we're here for," James said, grabbing her wrist and towing her along, letting her look around as much as she wanted. Remus and Sirius let them on ahead, stopping to talk to people they knew from school.

"Mister Ollivander?" James called in the empty shop, looking around curiously, "Sir?"

"Mister Potter!" a voice called from nowhere, making Hermione jump, "It's been a while since I've seen you!"

James chuckled as an old man began to walk towards them from behind a shelf, "Hah, yeah, I've grown since eleven."

"I'd say – nearly got your head knocked clean off by your mother's elbow."

"Hey now, not in front of friends," James pouted playfully before smiling and bringing Hermione in between the two, settling his hands on her shoulders again, "Ollivander, this is Hermione Granger. She's the one I wrote you about."

"Ahh, a pleasure to meet you, my dear," he stuck out his hand, making Hermione smile and shake it. "You're quite different, by many standards."

"Err – thank you, sir," she tugged on her jumper again, looking up at James, "Why are we here?"

"You need a wand," he shrugged simply, "Can't do magic without a wand. Well, okay, you _can_, but it's very advanced and extremely complex and I even hate doing it. Gives me a headache."

"Oh-kay," Hermione said after a moment, arching an eyebrow at Ollivander.

The older man chuckled and patted her hand, "Nothing to worry about, Dear. Come along, we'll set you up."

* * *

"How'd it go?" Sirius asked excitedly as Hermione stared at the wand in her hand, twisting it and looking at it in awe.

James chuckled, smoothing back his hair from his face, "She set my hair on fire."

"Should've moved," Hermione shrugged, still looking at her wand. Sirius and Remus gave a laugh before the latter grabbed her elbow, tugging her along. "Where are we going now?"

"Home," he answered simply.

She narrowed her eyes and put on the brakes, "_How_ are we getting there?"

"Err – Floo," he winced as she pursed her lips and began to lean farther away from him. "Honestly, you just need some practice. And if you go into the Floo, we can start working on stuff faster."

She bit her lip before sighing, shrugging out of his hold and walking along beside him. James and Sirius smirked at each other as Remus began to strike up a conversation with her about how she got her wand and what she thought of Ollivander.

By the time they got back to the boys' house, it was nearly dark, as they felt the need to let Hermione look around Diagon Alley and maybe show her everything that there was there. So by the time they got back, she had to go back to the Henderson's.

"We'll actually start on magic tomorrow," James promised before arching an eyebrow as she nodded, standing on the porch and shifting through her papers and books from Muggle school dully. "Do you need any help with those?"

"Hmm?" she hummed before blinking, "Oh, no, I finished these last week."

"You finish homework way before it's due?" Sirius questioned, leaning against the doorframe.

She shrugged, "If I didn't, what else would I do?"

"Uhh, ride a bike, learn a sport, make friends," Sirius prompted.

She sighed, but was smiling at them, "You don't get it. But thank you, this was…brilliant."

"You're welcome – do you want one of us to walk you home?" Remus asked, a frying pan in his hand, as Sirius had exclaimed something about pancakes, causing the three boys to want some at eight in the evening.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow," she grinned, stepping off the porch and starting off.

"See you!" they chorused, James walking back inside and shutting the door behind him.

"Did you write Dumbledore?" Remus asked, setting the frying pan on the burner and turning to his task.

"Yeah, we've got the license to teach her," James answered, "And he's looking up on her in the Ministry."

"I just really want to make sense of all of this," Sirius sighed, picking up the syrup bottle and blinking when his hands got sticky, licking the syrup off of a thumb and frowning. "She just seems so…lonely."

"Maybe she likes it like that," James hummed.

"James," Remus began, still watching the pancakes, "Do you remember when you were ten or so, before you started Hogwarts?"

"Yeah?" he asked, uncertain where this was going.

"D'you remember what it was like, not having anybody to write to or get letters from or talk to when your parents were being unreasonable?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, still unsure.

"Hermione's had to deal with that for all of her life – I think she might have some trust issues, maybe even people issues in general," he said, glancing back at him to see that his friend's eyebrows were coming down and he was hiding his frown behind his hands, his elbows propping himself up on the table. "Think about it – her parents seemingly gave her up, her adoptive family doesn't treat her like family, her adoptive sister makes it difficult for her to get friends, she's under the impression that people don't like her."

"We like her," Sirius said, laying across the table.

"We know that, but she doesn't – she's probably still thinking that we'll back out and leave her alone again in some way," Remus was waving the spatula around a little.

"We'd never do that," James insisted, "We didn't do that with Peter."

"Yeah, but now look at him," Sirius said darkly, "Dirty rat."

"That was Peter – the one in Hogwarts – not the one that tried to frame you for the murders of a dozen Muggles," Remus reminded, "James meant the Hogwarts one. But, getting back on track, Hermione's probably actually getting to be a kid for the first time."

"Nah," James shook his head, "You didn't see her, when she was younger. Those people were still awful to her, but she was making her own leaf pile and jumping in and just…she _looked_ happy."

"Something happened," Sirius exclaimed, sitting up and frowning at his friend across the table, "Something happened, we don't know what, but it _changed_ her, and I'll bet you all the money in my vault that it's important, not just to her but to a whole bunch of other people as well."

"The question is – what?" Remus asked, crossing his arms over his chest with his chin in one hand.

They were silent for a few moments before James looked up, looking puzzled.

"Is something burning?" he asked, making Remus curse and turn the burner off, grinning sheepishly at his friends as he presented the blackened pancakes.

"And you say I can't cook," Sirius teased as James prodded the breakfast food with a fork.

"Still looks better than what you come up with," James grinned back, making him huff at him. Remus chuckled and threw them down the sink, washing up the other dishes as well. James stood from the table as Sirius started to look for something else to eat, walking towards the stairs and stopping. He walked towards the coffee table and picked up a tattered book, checking the cover before flipping through it.

"Remus?"

"Mmyeah?" he asked.

"You don't have a beat up copy of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' do you?"

"Uh, a beat up one?" he asked without turning around, as he was focusing on scraping off the burnt pancakes. "No, why?"

"I was about to ask you who 'J. Fisher' was," he hummed dully.

"Maybe it's Hermione's," Sirius shrugged.

"She probably got it at a used bookshop," Remus shrugged as well.

James set it back on the coffee table, making a mental note to give it back to her tomorrow as he walked up the stairs and headed for his room.

* * *

**I can't cook pancakes without parental/Katherine supervision. Seriously. Black on the outside, gooey on the inside. Not pretty.**

**I hope you liked it, please let me know!**

**Love,**

**Ava**


	5. Blowing Out Wishes, Blowing Out Dreams

"C'mon, you can do it," he encouraged quietly.

Hermione was clutching the wand with both hands, fear etched onto her face as she began to shake her head, refusing once again as her curls began to fly in several directions.

"No, no, I can't," she insisted.

"Hermione, you can do this," Remus said, reaching out for her wrist and aiming it once more. "Just say it."

"It blew up last time," she argued.

"It's okay – you're actually far better at this than I expected," he smiled, "C'mon."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Wingardium Levio-"

"Lucy, I'm home!" Sirius crowed from upstairs as he slammed the front door, making Hermione jump and cover her face with her hands as the feather blew up, giving a small scream as Remus groaned at Sirius.

"Padfoot, I told you we were working down here!" he yelled up the staircase as Hermione looked forlornly at her feather.

"Oh, right, sorry," Sirius winced sheepishly as he stood on the steps, watching as Hermione frowned at her smoking, charred mass of bird plumage.

"Oh forget it," she insisted, "I think you three are all barmy for thinking I was magic." She let out a sigh and rubbed her arms, "And I was barmy for believing you."

"C'mon, Hermione, you're doing brilliantly, that last one wasn't your fault," Remus said, "One more try before you give up completely."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "I just can't do it, Remus. I can't point at it and say 'Wingardium Leviosa' and have anything float because I'm not magic."

"Then explain the floating feather," Sirius said, sitting on the step with his arms and legs through the banisters.

Hermione whirled around and blinked, as she hadn't known she'd been waving around her wand before she jumped up once with a grin. "I did it!"

Sirius grinned at Remus, who was smiling back at her, "Well of course you did. You're magic after all."

She laughed and pressed her hands to her face, "It didn't blow up!"

"Ready to work some more?" Remus asked.

She nodded enthusiastically, still grinning happily at her accomplishment.

* * *

They'd worked at spells and charms and potions for a few weeks, although Hermione had begun to lock her bedroom door and slip out of the window once she got back from school, as the Hendersons were beginning to get suspicious. She's hide some of the borrowed textbooks under her floorboards and read every night. Her school grades were slipping, and she fought to keep them up, but there wasn't enough time. When the boys caught wind of this, Remus grabbed her books from her and began to work, even though she insisted that he didn't have to do that, and that he probably wouldn't even know what to do. When her grades began to go back up, she didn't argue anymore, instead giving him a thankful smile before James began to teach her.

She'd learned that Remus didn't really have a job, as a lot of the Wizarding World was prejudiced against werewolves, that Sirius was hopping around from place to place because he was bored, and that James was playing Quidditch professionally, which always brought a big smile to his face when she asked about it.

She slipped back into her darkened room, shutting the window carefully and flicking the lock. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, spreading her hair through her fingers before she froze as the light flicked on.

* * *

"Owl from Dumbledore!" Sirius called up the staircase, taking the envelope from the owl and peering at the name. "It's for you, James!"

"On it!" James called back, trotting down the stairs and taking the envelope from him, ripping it open as he walked over to the couch to read it.

_Dear Mister Potter, _

_I have searched everywhere in the Department of Mysteries that houses any indication of anyone. I've read through Ministry files, I've called in favors from other Ministers for Magic, I've asked many magical adoption agencies, but I could find nothing about this Miss Granger who you so urgently requested me to find information on. _

_Perhaps she is using a fake name and is hiding away, perhaps this is a ploy to gain your trust and get information from the Order, or perhaps she is innocent of any and all accusations against her. My only advice is to keep a close and careful eye on her and whoever associates with her outside of Mister Black, Mister Lupin and yourself. _

_Signed,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Uhh," James said to himself, as Sirius had gone upstairs to bed, "That's suspicious. How can she not be in any files or anything?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and read over the letter a few more times before looking out of the window and frowning out at the dark and the rain. He stood and took another glance at the letter before setting it on the coffee table and grabbing a jacket, as well as his wand.

* * *

******Guys, I'm sorry, but I can't answer _all_ questions about the story because it'll ruin all of my surprises! But I can answer a few. For example – the boys have been out of Hogwarts for a year. So they're a year older than Hermione. There we go. Sorry, but you've got to understand**


	6. Sitting Here Trying to Decipher

Hermione was shoved into the counter, groaning as it hit against her stomach, bruising a few ribs. She turned back around and clutched it, looking fearfully up at Paul and Susan Henderson, Sofia smirking in the background.

"Where have you been going every night?" Paul questioned gruffly.

"Nowhere," she lied immediately, "I just go and walk around in the woods. It clears my head."

"Why would you feel the need to sneak around then?" Susan asked, sneering down her nose at her.

Hermione found it difficult to maintain eye contact, "I – I…."

"You're a filthy liar," Susan growled, "Where have you been off to, you little Mudblood?"

Hermione blinked and looked up, eyebrows furrowing at her as she glanced between her, Paul, and Sofia. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest, and if she didn't do something soon she'd begin to sweat.

"A what?" she asked, finding her voice sounding quite different from what she remembered, more childlike and curious.

Susan froze, staring at her blankly as Paul glanced at her. She quickly snapped back to glaring at her, "Don't change the subject – where have you been at night? And don't lie to us."

"Lie?" she scoffed, breaking through them and instead putting her back against the sink, one hand behind her. "Are we really going to talk about lying now?"

"Don't talk back to her – answer the question," Paul growled.

"You're going to yell at me for lying _once_ when you've been lying to me my entire _life?_" she was yelling now. This felt exhilarating. So much pent up energy and words and it was all coming out in this great big yell. She felt extremely proud of herself in that moment. "You kept me away from somewhere I needed to be. You kept me away from people I needed to be with. You hid the fact that I was an actual, magical _witch_ from me!"

She felt sick to her stomach now. The air was thick as Sofia came and stood next to her parents, glaring at her darkly with them. Hermione's hand finally found the smooth metal in the sink, a prick of pain shooting up her arm before she finally gripped the handle the right way. Should push come to shove, at least.

"Filthy little Mudblood!" Paul finally yelled, a jet of sparks shooting past her ear as she screamed and ducked. "We should've killed you when you were a child!"

Hermione gasped as she dropped the knife and held up her hands to shield her face, gashes appearing along her palms. She looked up at the Hendersons, who were advancing towards her, all with wands and all looking incredibly angry with her.

"So – so you knew?" she blinked, stepping back and away from them, towards the breakfast nook and – more importantly – the back door.

"Of course we knew," Sofia snorted, "The Dark Lord ordered that you be brought here."

"Should've killed you when you were still a little child," Susan glared. "No fuss, at least – " she gave a dark grin " – not for too long."

"Aww, poor widdle 'Ermione," Sofia laughed, "Where's your Mummy and your Daddy? Are you all alone in this big bad world?"

"Well, now, I wouldn't say that," somebody said, making Hermione gasp and whirl around to gape at James as he sauntered into the kitchen, one of the windows wide open. "I think I count."

"Potter," Paul growled.

James arched an eyebrow at him, hands in his pockets as he appraised him dully, "You." James hand shot out, his wand in it as another jet of light was aimed towards Hermione, tugging her behind his back as he glared. "You really are awful people. What's so important about Hermione that you wanted her?"

"Hermione Jean Granger," Sofia taunted, the three beginning to circle the two, "Brightest Witch of Her Age. The Golden Girl. You make me _sick_."

"Well there's a hypocrite if I ever heard one," James frowned at her, one arm still on Hermione, "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but you won't be keeping her for too long. In fact, I think her stay here is just about up." And with that, James flashed them a grin and they popped away.

Hermione gasped as she and James landed in the middle of the forest, rain pelting them as James looked over her worriedly, looking between the gashes on her palms and the cuts that had managed to get onto her face.

"Oh, look at you, they got you good," he murmured before his eyes widened as she pursed her lips and shut her eyes, breathing heavily. "Oh, Hermione, don't cry, c'mon, it's alright now." He pulled her into his arms awkwardly as she thumped her head against his chest in defeat, "Tell me what happened."

"I don't even know," she whimpered, shutting her eyes again.

* * *

"Thank you, James," she muttered as he patched up her hands, smiling at her rather sympathetically as he stood from crouching before the couch, walking behind her and into the kitchen.

"So they just pulled out wands and wished they'd have killed you when you were a baby?" James asked as he began to look through the cabinet.

"Yeah," she said sadly, running her thumb over the light scar that James had promised would leave in a day or two. "Hey."

"Yeah?" he asked, looking at the label on a vial before pouring some into a mug.

"What's a Mudblood?"

He froze in his task, turning to look at her as she looked back, curious. "What?"

"A Mudblood. They called me one."

His eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips together, "It's a bad word. It's what purebloods call those who aren't purebloods."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Now how would they know to call me that?"

"My thoughts exactly," he hummed before taking the mug and walking towards her, "You should probably get some sleep. It's nearly four in the morning."

"I'm fine, I don't think I could," she said as he handed her the mug. "Thank you, though."

He smiled, watching as she took a sip, "You're welcome."

She took one more before she blinked, looking up at him before her eyes narrowed. "Oh, you're a prat."

"Why?" he asked with a grin, taking the mug away from her as she tried to stand, although she did this with a yawn.

"You put something in that," she accused, pointing at the mug as he grabbed a blanket off a chair and began to unfold it.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he lied, grabbing her shoulder and guiding her down to lie on the couch.

"Prat," she repeated once her eyes were closed.

"Goodnight," he smiled back as he threw the blanket over her.

* * *

"Why is Hermione on our couch?" Remus whispered as he woke James up from the chair, looking worriedly at the girl as she hid her face in her sleep.

"Umm…long story," he said as he stood, stretching out his back.

"Give me the shortened version," he prompted as he followed him to the kitchen.

"Hendersons are working for Voldemort, they attacked her last night when she said she knew she was a witch, I stepped in and brought her here," he said before blinking, "Wow, that wasn't really all that long."

"_What?_" Remus hissed, blinking at him.

"Yeah, it's crazy," he rolled his eyes, "But, good news is, she isn't just getting close to us to get information on the Order."

Remus stared at him blankly, "Where did you even get that idea?"

"Oh, Dumbledore wrote me back," he answered, "Couldn't find anything about her in the Ministry or anywhere."

He arched an eyebrow, "That's suspicious."

"That's what I thought," he agreed, "So I went out to go confront Hermione about it, except they were already confronting her about something else."

"Well, where'd she come from?"

"I don't know," he insisted, "But it's driving me mad because I want to. Know, I mean."

"Know what?" Hermione asked as she sat up, yawning and stretching before she blinked and looked around. "What the hell?"

"Good morning, sleepy head!" James grinned brightly at her.

She squinted her eyes at him before groaning and slapping her palms over her eyes, falling back into the pillow, "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"'Fraid not, Dear."

"Are you okay?" Remus asked, making his way to the back of the couch and peering down at her.

"Physically, I am patched up, mentally, however, I am a complete and utter wreck," she answered as she sat up once more, this time standing.

"What?" Sirius asked sleepily from the staircase, "What's going on? Why's Hermione here?"

"Ask James," Hermione hummed as she scrunched up her hair, stretching out her back and her legs as well as her arms.

"Uhh, Hendersons are working with You-Know-Who and I saved Hermione," he grinned at himself, "Wow, I shortened that down a lot!"

"What?" Sirius asked, looking over at Hermione, "How the – why – what the hell?"

"Exactly," she nodded back.

"Well, now what are we going to do?" Remus asked, leaning against the back of the couch as they looked over to James.

He stared at them for a moment before he crouched down behind the counter, glaring a little, "Don't look at me, I just shorten the story."

* * *

**Aaagggh, what? I dunno.**


	7. Thanks for Saving Me

**Like I said, I can neither confirm nor deny any of your speculations. But I'm so glad that you guys love this story enough to stick with it, despite how confusing it might be. Thank you.**

* * *

"You didn't have to do this," she insisted once more, her eyes wide as she looked at the three grinning boys. "You really didn't."

"Do you not want to live with us or something?" Sirius asked, pouting at her.

"No, it's not that, it's just…you barely know me and you're doing all of these wonderful things for me – teaching me magic, giving me a place to stay," she shook her head, "How can I even begin to thank you?"

"It's actually purely selfish reasons," James grinned and shrugged, "We want to know more about you, so we're keeping you around."

"But do you like your room?" Remus asked.

"I love it, you barmy men," she grinned back. She lost the grin for a moment, biting her lip and wincing at them.

"Something wrong?" Sirius asked, curiously.

Her hands snapped behind her back and she shook her head, "Nope, nothing."

James arched an eyebrow before it came to him, making him grin at her, "You can hug us if you want, Hermione."

She smiled sheepishly at him before hugging the nearest Marauder tightly, making Remus laugh and hug her back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome," he chuckled.

"My turn!" Sirius bounced, opening his arms for her and swaying them as she hugged him.

"You three are brilliant," she grinned up at him.

"We try," he grinned back.

* * *

James walked down the stairs, Sirius trying to yawn a sentence at him, but was promptly stopped by his friend's back.

"She cooks," James said in awe, making Hermione turn around and smile at them.

"She cooks?" Sirius repeated, blinking at her before raising his arms and face to the ceiling, "Praise the heavens, she cooks!"

She laughed, twirling the spatula around on a finger, "Just pancakes, don't celebrate or anything."

"Oh, but we can't make pancakes!" James hopped down to the floor, beaming as he walked over to her, "You'd actually be surprised at what we manage to make."

"How do you think we stay so skinny?" Sirius asked, walking down the rest of the steps and leaning over her shoulder.

"I always thought it was a good metabolism. I guess it's actually just poor cooking abilities," she teased.

"Somebody's cooking, please tell me it's not Sirius," Remus said, at the top of the stairs warily.

"It's Hermione!" James said excitedly, "She can cook!"

"Brilliant!" he grinned, walking down the stairs before stopping, "Hermione, that's very nice of you, but you didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, she does," Sirius argued, glaring at him.

"Consider it as a thank you for all you guys have done for me," she shrugged, handing Sirius a plate of pancakes, "Or, consider it for my own safety. Your pick."

He paused for a few moments before grinning, continuing down the staircase, "Well, when you put it that way…."

"Thank you, though," James smiled as she handed him a plate.

They ate for a few minutes before Sirius coughed, waving at James urgently, who looked at him in confusion until he finally swallowed.

"Don't you have an early Quidditch practice?" he asked.

James's eyes widened and he dashed up the staircase, cursing as he did so. Remus shook his head as Hermione watched him go in amusement.

"He's the new guy trying to work his way into good graces – he's only ever played one professional game, and he broke his arm and nearly his neck," Remus explained to her. "But the captain doesn't want him to get hurt again, so he's having James go slow."

"James hates it," Sirius spoke up, "Because he hates going slowly. He wants to prove that he can do it."

"Bye, thanks for breakfast, see you later!" James yelped out as he dashed out the door to Apparate, everybody craning their necks to watch him go. As the door slammed shut, they absorbed the silence that followed.

"What even is Quidditch anyway?" Hermione asked, making Sirius snap his head up and blink at her.

"Not now, Sirius," Remus said before he could speak.

"But she - !" he exclaimed.

"Not _now_," he insisted, standing from the table and grabbing his and James's plates, "Today's a school day."

"Do I have to come?" Sirius asked, arching an eyebrow as Hermione stood and helped him with the dishes.

"I'd actually prefer it if you didn't," he said, taking Hermione's plate from her with a smile and setting it in the sink with his and James's, flicking his wand at it to make them begin to wash themselves, Hermione watching in fascination.

"Brilliant!" Sirius grinned, "I'll stay here and watch the pancakes."

Remus rolled his eyes and headed to the living room to grab a few books off the shelves and check their battered spines.

"What do you feel like working on first, Hermione?" he asked.

"Huh?" she questioned, blinking at him, "Oh, umm…whatever you want to start on. But can I go change first?"

"Oh, sure," he winced sheepishly before she padded up the steps.

Sirius watched her go, his fork in his mouth before he whirled around to Remus once he heard her door shut. "Do you believe me now?"

"For what?" he asked incredulously.

"That Hermione and James would go great together," he explained, practically bouncing in his seat, "Don't you see it?"

Remus groaned and rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he headed down to the basement, "Leave them alone, you barmy nutter."

Sirius watched him go before huffing, frowning at the remains of the pancakes, "Well _I_ can see it."

* * *

**Sorry for not updating, but I'm taking my time. Also, I'm in another play, this time for a community theatre in which my mom's friend is producing/directing/possibly starring in, and my little brother and I are acting in it. It's called _Partridge in a Palm Tree_, and I'll try my best to continue updating even when my plate is full. But it might be Christmas by the time I get back on track with updating all the things I need to.**

**I love you,**

**Ava**


	8. Calling All Angels

_"Oh, Turpentine erase me whole / I don't want to live my life alone / I was waiting for you all my life"_ – "Honeybee" by Steam Powered Giraffe

* * *

"James, it wasn't my fault," Sirius said immediately, blocking his best friend's view by getting in his face the second he stepped through the door.

James blinked at him and leaned back, first in confusion and then suspicion, "What'd you do?" Sirius snatched the glasses off of his face and darted away, making James sigh and rub at his eyes, "Remus, how bad is it?"

Remus let out a growl instead, making James wince as he realized it was that bad. Bad enough that Remus wasn't actually talking and was instead nearly to the point of changing without a full moon. Also known as: very, very bad.

"What'd he do?" he asked, carefully easing into the house, afraid he'd trip over something without his glasses.

"Why don't you ask Hermione?" Remus finally said, although it was bitterly, "She's just in the upstairs bathroom freaking out about her hair."

"What's with her hair?" James asked with a frown. When Sirius was silent, he got out his wand and got his glasses back, frowning at Sirius as he crouched behind the coffee table, Remus sitting on the arm of the couch and glaring at him. "What happened?"

"We were working, she was doing great in Potions – actually, she's great at everything, but that's not the point here – and I go upstairs to find a third year Potions book – "

"Third year?" James asked with a small grin forming, "Didn't she start on first year this morning?"

"No, she was halfway through it," he answered back with a smile before shaking his head, "Anyway, I get downstairs to find that Sirius has drastically changed her hair."

"How?" James asked their friend with a glare. The two only glanced over to the staircase, Sirius fearfully and Remus sadly. James walked up it and knocked on the door.

"Sirius Black, if you think you can calm me down, you have another - !" Hermione stopped midsentence after opening the door, blinking at James as he gaped at her hair.

"It's blue," he blinked, "He turned your hair blue."

"Originally it was pink," her lower lip wobbled, "I tried washing it out and it turned blue."

"Oh he's dead," he breathed as he put his hands on either side of her face, wincing at her as he stared at the dripping strands. "If you don't kill him, I will marvel at your willpower."

"I just want my hair changed back, James," she whimpered.

"Sweetheart, we don't know how to change it to a less ridiculous color," he sighed, "We can go to a Muggle drug store and get some dye though, but that'll be about it."

"Don't wizards have a different money system?" At James's nod, she shook her head, "We can't buy any. Is there any way to match the color and make a potion or something?"

"We could try that, but it'd be trial and error," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders, an action that made both of them blush and have her snap back to grab her shirt and put it back on. "Err – s-sorry."

She coughed, looking away from him, "It's fine, I should've put it on before I – wow, sorry, that's umm…"

"Uhh, drug store?" he asked, still blushing brightly at her.

"Sure," she said, following him down the stairs.

"Hermione and I are going to the drug store to figure out how to duplicate a hair color and put it in a potion," James said, heading towards the front door, "Remus, feel free to eat Padfoot."

"Wait, what?" Hermione blinked until James grabbed her wrist and pulled her through.

* * *

"How did your hair look before?" he whispered to her, scanning the shelves with her.

"I don't know," she whispered back, staring at the boxes blankly, looking utterly lost. "I never really paid much attention. It was brown – I know that much."

"Well…pick a brown then," he shrugged.

"How are we going to know what color though?" she questioned, looking up at him, "We can't just take home 'E5' or 'dark brown' and expect something to happen, can we?"

James stared blankly at her before finally speaking, "We didn't think this through."

"Anything I can help you with?" a salesperson asked curiously, looking between her and James. She had pale blonde hair that hung in ringlets, held away from her freckled face with a headband.

"Umm, just looking," Hermione answered, still staring blankly at the boxes, "But thank you."

"Miss, if you don't mind my saying," she tugged on a blue curl, "I think you might need my help. It was brown before, right?"

"Uhh, yeah, but we can't exactly buy any," she said, taking back her hair politely, "We don't have the right kind of money."

"Oh, are you foreign?" she asked curiously, although somehow warily as well.

"Err…you might say that," James answered.

She stared at them for a few moments before tilting her head at them, "Have you ever heard of Hogwarts?"

James picked his head up and blinked at her, "Yeah, uhh, I went there."

She smiled, grinning brightly at the two, "I get off in three minutes, give me that much and I can fix your hair, Sweetheart."

"Oh, wait, but – " Hermione tried to stop her, but she was already walking back up the aisle. She watched her go before looking up at James curiously, him looking down at her the same way. "Should we stay?"

"I dunno – she could be dangerous," he whispered back, glancing towards the windows, "And it's nearly dark."

"James," Hermione snorted, "She works at a nearly empty drug store. If she wanted to kill us, she could've done it now."

"There's windows, there's witnesses," he chided.

"Well you could do that blippy thing and get us out of here."

"Blippy thing?" he repeated, rather offended.

"That thing where we go 'pop'," she tried.

"Apparation?" he frowned, "You called Apparation a 'blippy thing'?"

"Well I don't know the name of it, I'd only ever experienced it twice, and both times I never bothered to ask the name of it," she huffed.

He snorted and rolled his eyes as the woman walked back up to them, her apron off and smiling. "Blippy thing," he repeated under his breath, "Honestly."

"My name is Josette, by the way, but you can call me Jo or Josie," she smiled, extending her hand to Hermione.

"I'm Hermione, this is James," Hermione smiled as well, "Thank you for bothering to fix my mess of hair."

"It's fine – who did it?" she questioned.

"One of our flat mates," she sighed, letting Jo pick curiously through the curls.

"Ahh, thought you had a prankster boyfriend on your hands," she chuckled.

"B-boyfriend?" Hermione sputtered, accidentally making a blue strand pluck away. James's eyes went wide as well, whipping his head around to the woman.

"We're not dating," James waved away any assumptions as Jo blinked at the reaction she was getting. "No, no we're not – wow, didn't even think how it'd look – but we're not."

"I just thought – sorry, easy mistake to make, you two where whispering an awful lot, assumptions were made…." Jo trailed off before starting to grin again, "Are you ready? I've got everything at my flat."

"Oh, that's not suspicious," James murmured with a roll of his eyes.

"My father is in the French Ministry of Magic," Jo muttered back with a smirk, "My mother is an Auror. If I even put a _toe_ in that direction, I'd be dead in a second."

He blinked at her before grinning sheepishly, "Assumptions were made and everything…."

"Ah-hah," she chuckled, turning back to Hermione, "You alright with Apparation, Love?"

"Sure," she said, glaring at James as he began to grin, mouthing out 'blippy thing' to her. She stuck her tongue out at him as Jo turned her back to them, making him snort in response.

* * *

Hermione clung to Jo's arm as her feet were swept out from under her, the air leaving her lungs for a moment as her head spun. James grabbed an arm and towed her up to her feet, holding her shoulders as she teetered.

"I thought you said you were alright with Apparation?" Jo asked worriedly.

"It's a new concept with me," she said breathlessly, clinging to James now as she'd tried to move. "Only ever used in extreme moments of panic, so I never noticed."

"It's a weird story with her," James said as Hermione rubbed at her temples, Jo moving to the kitchen to begin picking through cabinets.

"You can go ahead and start explaining, this'll take quite a few hours to make," she said as Hermione finally focused.

She dropped her jaw and gaped, "Is that the Eiffel Tower?"

"Oh, yeah, welcome to Paris!" she pulled her head out of a cabinet and grinned.

"_Paris_?" Hermione asked, beaming at Jo brightly, "You live in _Paris?_ I've always wanted to go to Paris!"

"And now you're here!" she grinned back.

"I'm in Paris!" she gave a laugh, "I'm in Paris and I have blue hair!"

"Welcome to the world of magic, Sweetheart," she chuckled, not unkindly. "So, what's the story?"

"Well, we don't really know all of it," James sighed, sitting down at the island and watching as she busied her hands, Hermione staring out the large windows to the balcony that lead to the fading sun and famous monument. "But she was adopted when she was a baby and was pretty neglected by these awful people and their daughter. My friend's dog finds her and after a small blow-out with her and the family, led her to our house, where she learned about magic. I was wondering why the Ministry wasn't investigating a Muggle knowing about magic, so I looked into her memories. McGonagall had come to her house on her eleventh birthday to ask the adoptive parents to let her come to Hogwarts, but they refused and she has no memory of anything happening after that. So we decided to teach her, with the approval of Hogwarts's headmaster, and things were going okay for a while. The family caught her and found out she knew about magic, and pulled out wands and attempted to kill her. I stepped in, and now she's living with me and my two friends."

Jo's eyebrows had slowly gone up during the story, her jaw popping open when he'd said that somebody had wanted to kill her, but she put them all back into place with a shake of her head, "Wow, okay. Weird."

"Yeah," James agreed as she began to stir things into a cauldron. "Where did you go to school?"

"Beauxbatons," she answered, "I don't have much of the French accent because I have an English aunt who I've lived with every summer and holiday since I was two. Mum and Dad get tired of running through the streets of magnifique Paris so much, so they thought England was a good vacationing spot. I didn't complain much, because my aunt is wicked cool. Oh, and my cousin, Angelique, she went to Hogwarts, just a little fourth year, know her?"

"Last name?" James asked curiously as Hermione finally walked up to them.

"Sylvette," she answered.

"Oh, little bit on the short side, short brown hair?" he asked, making her beam and nod, "Yeah, got onto me and Padfoot for – " He noticed that Hermione was back with them and looking at him curiously, clearing his throat and waving his hand around vaguely, "For something, forget what."

"_You're_ James Potter?" Jo leaned across the island and blinked at him, "Angie's been writing to me about you four for ages, saying how you guys made Hogwarts tolerable!"

"Us?" James snorted, blinking at her, "Tolerable? Oh no, you must've gotten the wrong Marauders then."

"She said that she hated being all alone in first year and one of them – oh, what was his name? – sat with her in the library and helped her make friends."

"Library?" Hermione grinned, her hands in her jacket pockets, "Was it Remus?"

"Yes!" Jo bounced up with a beam, waving her hand, "And she said that the other two who could've passed for brothers were hilarious, always getting on the teachers' nerves and causing some type of commotion."

"James and Sirius, surely," Hermione smiled as James shrugged at her, grinning.

"And there was one other that she wrote about, but she didn't really like him all that much," Jo said thoughtfully as she dropped in a pomegranate.

James's face clouded over and he glared at the countertop, "Yeah, we don't like him all that much either."

"Oh dear – what's with that face?" she asked as Hermione looked at him curiously. There had been a fourth one? Why had they never said that?

James sighed and continued to glare at the surface, fiddling with his jacket sleeve, "Turns out he was a Death Eater. Framed one of my best friends for killing a dozen Muggles, and he nearly got away with it if I hadn't…." James started over with a sigh, "Sirius doesn't always think before he acts or speaks, very rarely does he. So when Peter said that he'd killed me – I'd just had a nasty accident on the Quidditch pitch, and a lot of people thought I was dead – Sirius followed him into Muggle London, where Peter killed the Muggles and blamed it on Sirius. Everybody would've bought it if I hadn't come to and pointed out that I'd had Sirius's wand."

"Why'd you have his wand?" Hermione asked, sitting down beside him.

James grinned and shook his head, running his hand through his hair, "Sirius was swearing that he'd set off fireworks if our team won. That'd be terribly embarrassing for me, being the new guy and all, so I took his wand."

"So what happened to Peter?" Jo asked curiously.

"Sent to Azkaban, probably got the Dementor's Kiss or something," he shrugged with a wince.

"Sent to where, got a what?" Hermione blinked.

James turned to her and grinned, "Azkaban is a wizarding prison. Dementors are creatures that basically suck the happiness out of you, and their 'kiss' can suck out your soul and leave you a hollow shell."

Hermione leaned a little away from him and fidgeted, "Sounds creepy."

"It really is," he agreed.

"So, do you guys have a while or do you just want to jet?" Jo asked, "I could show you the Louvre or Centre Pompidou once your hair is back to normal."

Hermione brightened and beamed at her as James grinned and chuckled at Hermione's reaction.

"I'll pass, but I think Hermione's up to it," James said. "I can come pick you up in a few hours if you want."

"Alright!" Hermione said happily as Jo beamed as well. As James stood to leave, Jo stopped him with a frown.

"I thought I was a suspicious character?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Nah – anybody related to Angel can't be that bad," he grinned, "See you in a bit, girls." And with that, he popped away.

* * *

**I honestly didn't know what Jo's name would be, but I knew I wanted her in the story. She's a bit older than the boys if you didn't catch that. She didn't really have a name.**


	9. No Way

Hermione hung her head and ran her fingers through her hair, the large sleeves of her shirt falling down to her elbows as Remus and James talked. There was a feminine laugh coming from upstairs, making Hermione pick her head up curiously before pursing her lips and shaking her head as James began to chuckle at her.

She leaned towards him and hissed, "Does this happen often?"

"Yup," they answered softly.

"The real kicker is that you've got to act like they'll be together forever," James hissed.

"I've got to _talk_ to What's-Her-Face?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Sorry," Remus shrugged.

Hermione huffed and slumped in her chair, pushing her bare feet against the table and tilting her chair back a bit before she brightened and set it back down. James arched an eyebrow at her as footsteps sounded, making Hermione shoot him a smirk before taking a sip of her tea.

"Oh," the woman said, blinking in surprise at Hermione as Sirius slipped past her on the staircase and hit the first floor. "I wasn't aware you lived with another girl."

Sirius arched an eyebrow at her, "I told you that I lived with James, Remus, and Hermione."

"I thought you said Herman," she said as Hermione stood, not before shooting a frown to James, and smiled politely at the woman.

"Bonjour," she said, making the three boys blink at each other, "Je m'appelle Hermione. Comment tu t'appelle?"

The woman blinked before James stood and picked up his plate, "Hermione's French. She doesn't know much English."

"Oh," the woman nodded, her honey colored hair moving with her head before she turned back to Hermione and began to enunciate slowly, "My name is Crystal. Can you say that? _Crys-tal_."

Hermione pursed her lips before smiling, "Un nuit se tenir debout?"

Remus snorted and coughed as his coffee went down the wrong pipe, James hiding his grin as he worked on his plate, Sirius frowning at Hermione and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?" Crystal blinked.

Sirius took his moment to intervene, "Hey, did you leave your necklace upstairs?"

Crystal's hand flew to her neck and her eyes widened before she dashed upstairs as James, Hermione and Remus finally began to laugh, James clutching the counter as Sirius glared at the girl, who was biting her lip and backing away from him with her arms around her stomach.

"That was so rude," he finally said.

"Would you have done it in English?" Remus questioned.

"If I had a better way of defending myself in a cat fight, yes," she answered as she walked back to her seat. She rocked back on the back two legs and shot a victorious smirk to Sirius, "Unless, of course, I was completely off…?"

Sirius could only glare and stalk back upstairs as she grinned and leaned further back. She gave a surprised gasp as the chair toppled over with her in it, attempting to reach for the table and failing to do so.

"_Holy shit!_" she cursed quietly, afraid of making Crystal aware of her English speaking abilities as Remus and James looked at her worriedly. She whimpered and curled in on herself, holding her head as James kneeled down next to her. She looked up at him with a wince, "Is this karma?" He chuckled and prodded her tender head, making her hiss before he patted her forehead.

"You should be alright," he said as he stood, reaching down to grab her hand and help her up. He pushed her towards the staircase, "Go get dressed."

"This is dressed," she protested, hands on her hips as he blinked at her appearance. With the baggy shirt and shorts, he thought it was simply pajamas.

"Umm…" he began, an eyebrow creeping its way up, "Very – ahh – fashionable."

"Today is my free day," she explained, "And on such day I shall remain in my pajamas."

"I'm guessing now would be the worst possible time to bring up that Ministry party that you wanted her to go to," Remus hummed from the table dully.

"Ah-hah, it would be," she said as she began to step back towards the stairs, "So it'd be best not to – augh!" She'd attempted to dash up the stairs, but James had leapt forward and grabbed her by the waist, picking her up easily and throwing her back down on the couch. Sirius trotted down, this time alone as he got an apple out of the fridge and watched Hermione and James dully, Remus watching in the same form as well.

"Please?" James pleaded, "I've _got_ to go – it comes with the perks of having a dad in the Ministry – and I'll look like a poofter if I go alone."

"Get one of them to go with you," Hermione insisted with a frown, waving to Sirius and Remus.

"Do you know what a poofter is?" he blinked incredulously at her.

"Just get a group of friends to go with you," she said, "It's what people at school did when they couldn't get dates."

"Well, this isn't school."

"Yeah, because it's not mandatory to go," she gave a smirk as she stood, "At least, not for me anyway."

As she began to walk upstairs, he called out to her, "I told Jo I'd convince you. She'll be here in two hours, 'come hail or high water.'"

Hermione promptly froze, a hand on the railing as she recalled her new friend's zeal when it came to beauty and fashion. She gave James another glare, although now he was the one smirking as she padded up the stairs.

* * *

**Sorry it's short, but I am suffering from allergies and feel like crap.**

**Oh, and Hermione was supposed to have said "One night stand" in French. I know that 'un' and 'nuit' seem right, but I'm not entirely one hundred percent certain about 'se tenir debout' meaning stand. Google translate has been known to fail me before.**


	10. Closed Tight Spaces

**This is the third time writing the beginning to this because of Sims crashing while I was playing it so not only do I have to start over on that game I've also got to start over on my stories and this just seriously ticks me off beyond belief.**

* * *

James inspected his tie in the mirror dully, ignoring the occasional crashes and thumps from upstairs. He had to be sure that his attire wouldn't offend anyone this time – last time he thought it was safe to go with a _red_ tie, and Mister Hershkiss had nearly popped a vessel. He was playing it safe with black pants and a tie, with a white dress shirt, and actually attempted trying to flatten his hair before giving up.

"Hey, uh, Jo?" James called up the staircase, making Remus and Sirius turn their attention onto him for a moment. "I kind of have to leave soon."

Jo's head appeared over the banister, wand in hand as she grinned. When she had shown up, the boys were rather surprised to see how well Hermione held up in a fight against her. Of course, it wasn't as if Jo was a Death Eater, but they were still proud of her when she did the Jelly-Legs Jinx in a feeble attempt to get away. Jo had quickly gotten free and rushed up the stairs after her, and they assumed they had taken their fight upstairs by the noises.

"She's cooperating now," Jo said, a few pieces of her blonde hair slipping out of her braid, "I've got the make-up devices going auto-pilot on her now, so in a few minutes she should be – "

"Ow!" Hermione yelped from the bathroom, "Jo, the mascara poked me in the eye!"

Jo didn't even look back, "That was the eyeliner, sweetie."

"My _eye,_ Jo!" she called.

"Anyway," Jo didn't seem too worried, "You go ahead to the boring Ministry thing and I'll drop her off in five to ten minutes. Oh, and would the other boys mind if I stayed behind and tried to organize her closet? And maybe replace or hide a few things in there?"

James grinned when Hermione's voice was heard once more, "You know, I _can_ hear you. Jo, if you touch one thing in my closet, I'll – "

"Sweetie, I could dye your curls a pretty shade of pink," Jo interrupted. She and James chuckled before she turned back to him, "Five to ten, promise."

"Thanks," he said, "And I don't think Sirius or Remus would mind."

"I like how he asked us our opinion," Sirius snorted, "_I_ might mind."

"Shush it, Padfoot," Remus frowned at him. James said good-bye to everyone and stepped outside to Apparate to the Ministry.

He was greeted by finding his father there, waiting by the door and nodding politely to people James knew he didn't like. When he saw his son, he smiled wider and made his way over to him. James had been told that he looked like a mix of his parents, with his mother's hair and father's eyes and a mix of their personalities. He took it as a compliment – he was proud of his parents and loved them very much.

"Thank Merlin you're here," Harold Potter sighed, "About fifteen people asked me if I remembered where to go."

"Did you hex them?" James asked mildly, knowing that both of his parents hated it when other people called them old, but would use it when they tried to guilt him (or Sirius) into something.

"Thought about it," Harold grinned, "So, where's your date and who's your date?"

"Back at the flat," James answered, "And it's Hermione."

Harold blinked at him, "Who?"

"She didn't go to Hogwarts."

"Oh," he nodded, "Beauxbatons then?"

James grimaced, "Uh, no."

"Durmstrang?"

"No."

"James Potter," Harold crossed his arms over his chest and glared a little at him, "If you thought it was funny to bring some poor Muggle girl to a Ministry function – "

"She's not Muggle, Dad," James stopped himself, "Well, kind of, but not really."

"James," Harold pinched the bridge of his nose, "Start making sense."

"I'll make sense when I tell you and Mum," James promised.

Harold arched an eyebrow before whistling, "You mean we get to _meet_ this girl? Must be pretty special." As he walked off into the room, James stared after him in confusion, wondering what he could've possibly meant by that when somebody nearly dragged him down to the ground by his arm.

He looked, and realized that this somebody resembled something like Hermione. Her hair was pulled up and pinned back into some weird bun, although one stubborn curl was hanging by her face. The eyeliner or mascara or whatever had poked her in the eye had helped make her eyes seem large. Instead of looking like an owl, like one would expect, she actually looked rather innocent. Jo had either brought or found a dark red sleeveless dress for her, the front stopping at her knees while the back stopped at her calves.

Hermione straightened herself with caution before frowning and settling her hands on her hips, "Jo pushed me. I nearly twisted my ankle."

James glanced down at her feet, seeing that his assumptions were correct and she was wearing heels.

Hermione suddenly looked at him very sweetly, making him grin a little but arch an eyebrow at her anyway, "What do you want?"

"Can you please change these into flats?" she asked, "For safety reasons, of course."

"Of course," he grinned before doing so, finding himself with a Hermione whose height he was normal with. "Ready?"

"I guess so," she sighed.

He chuckled, "I like your enthusiasm." He led her in by the small of her back, recoiling his hand in shock when it touched skin instead of fabric. He found himself staring at her back, as she had gotten in front of him now. She turned around and caught him staring, arching an eyebrow at him warily.

"What?" she asked slowly.

"Nothing," he answered a little too quickly, "Just…realized your dress didn't…uh…."

She smiled now, walking towards him, "James, are you alright?"

"No," he answered truthfully, "My tongue seems to have grown about three sizes."

She snorted in her laugh, "Well, that's a different ending to _How the Grinch Stole Christmas._"

He followed her in, looking at her curiously, "How the What?"

"I'll explain later," she promised, blinking at her surroundings. The ceiling was impossibly high, and marble columns seemed to be everywhere, and there was a giant chandelier overhead. "Wow."

"Yeah," James grinned next to her, enjoying her reaction. "Magic and all that."

"Wow," she breathed once more.

"Oh," James grabbed her wrist and towed her over to his father, "Dad, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is my dad."

"Hah, finally get to meet you," he grinned, extending his hand, "Harold Potter."

"Hermione Granger," Hermione smiled back.

"Look, Sweetheart, if he or any of the other boys bug you, just tell me – I'll tell Eudora and she'll scare them straight."

Hermione laughed, "Don't worry, not too many problems have rose so far."

He gave her a knowing smile and arched an eyebrow, "_Too many?_ So there've been some?"

"Uhh," James looked around worriedly before grabbing her arm, "Okay, bye Dad, gotta go see more people, see you and Mum later okay bye." He sighed and she gave him a frown, making him frown back at her. "Don't look at me like that."

She snorted and rolled her eyes as he pulled her to someone else.

"You'll get a kick out of this one," James muttered into her ear before smiling to the man, "Mister Willhelm, nice to see you here again."

"Mister Potter," he gave a curt little nod. "And who is your companion?"

"This is Hermione," James settled his hands on her shoulders and brought her around in front of him, tapping a rhythm on her right shoulder as Mister Willhelm appraised her. She bit the inside of her cheek, leaning into James a little bit more as he seemed to frown at her.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir," she smiled.

"Mister Willhelm is head of an organization – remind me the name of it again, sir?"

"Protection of Wizarding Women's Educational Rights," he stated.

Hermione smiled and opened her mouth to say how nice it was when he continued.

"Yes, yes, young women do not need to learn dueling and all of this nonsense," he continued, making Hermione promptly freeze and stare at him as James's fingers danced in amusement on their perch. "They need to learn embroidery and stitching and child-rearing."

"Oh really?" Hermione asked drily, making James hide his smile behind her head.

"Yes – can I sign you on?" he asked, "We meet every other Tuesday."

"Well, sir, I'd love to, from learning all of these wonderful defensive spells and learning to use them, I'm afraid I just don't have enough time," Hermione smiled sweetly before turning to James, "James, didn't you say that there were other people to see? Goodbye, Mister Willhelm." She walked off, making James grin at him before following her.

"You should've stuck around to see his face," he chuckled, "I'm so glad I brought you."

"Hmph," she smirked, hands on her hips, "I am already thinking of ways you owe me."

"When's your birthday? I'll find you something good," he tried.

"Hah-ah, Potter," she shook her head, "Today surely isn't your birthday, or else I would've heard from several people."

"Alright, alright," he laughed, "What would you like?"

She bit her lip, folding her arms now as she thought. James watched her absently, unaware that his eyes were trained on her lips. "I know," she smiled at him, "There's this – "

"Book?" he grinned back as she blinked at him. "What? I've lived with you for a few months, I think I've got you pegged."

"Oh really?" she questioned, "You _think_ you've got me pegged?"

"You don't want to hear it," he quickly decided.

"Why?" she frowned. "Am I that bad?"

"What? No – I just don't think you'd want to hear it."

"You're telling me later," she said, "That's what you owe me."

"But what about the book?" he asked with a grin after a few moments.

"Hendersons," she said instead, gripping his arm as her eyes went wide and she went pale.

"What?" his head whipped around, but he could see nothing.

"James, they're here," her voice was getting a slightly hysterical edge to it. "James, we've got to – "

"Hermione, calm down, I don't see them," he said, "Maybe you saw somebody that looked like them."

"Tcht," she snorted, frowning at him, "James, I've lived with these people since I started being able to retain memories. I _think_ I know what they look like a bit better than you do."

"Look, if you see them again, point them out to me and we'll go," he said, hands on her shoulders, "Promise."

She sighed, "Fine."

They spent the next few hours talking to people. Hermione found a little girl, around five or six, with blonde hair and a light pink dress. She spent a while talking to her, smiling when she made the little girl laugh, as she had an adorable gap where she'd lost a tooth, her parents glad that she wasn't being bored to death anymore. James had gone off to talk to somebody else, as the little girl had seemed even shyer around him.

"Bye, Sweetheart, I'll see you later," Hermione smiled, waving to her as she was cradled in her father's arms. She gave a sleepy wave back, making her smile a bit wider and blow her a kiss before turning around and looking in confusion. "Now – where'd James go?"

She slipped further into the crowd, identifying people that James had pointed out to her dully before somebody tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around with a polite smile before it was wiped clean off of her face.

"Hello, Poppet," Susan Henderson smirked.

"L-leave me alone," Hermione demanded, taking a few steps away from her. "I'm warning you, I'll – "

"You'll _what_?" she laughed, clicking her way closer to her, "You know nothing – you're _pathetic._ Stupid little Mudblood. But at least now there's no Potter to save you."

"Leave me alone!" Hermione yelled, determination filling her up and making her stand taller, looking at her defiantly. James's head whipped around and his eyes widened before began to run towards Hermione, cursing under his breath as he pushed through people.

Susan sneered before lunging for her, making her topple backwards onto the floor. Her wrists were pinned to the marble floor in one of Susan's bony hands, several people around her gasping as Susan brought out a knife.

"Get off – go away!" Hermione demanded, kicking her off and scrambling away, pushing through people to get to the door. There were several shouts and demands to grab Susan, and she thought she saw James pull out his wand and aim it at the foul woman as she aimed hers back, but she kept pushing. Once she got out, she shut one of the large oak doors and slid down it, breathing heavily and staring at her shaky hands. She had red blotches on her wrists, and she found that she was shaking all over. She rubbed her hands against her bare arms, breathing through her mouth when the door opened.

"Hermione – are you okay?" James asked, kneeling down next to her.

"I – I told you I didn't want to go," she found herself crying now, "I told you I didn't want to come, and I told you that it was them, but you didn't listen and I – "

"I know, I'm so sorry, I should've listened to you," he was shaking as well, reaching for her and pulling her into him, shushing her in an attempt to calm her down and running his fingers through her hair, which had halfway fallen out of its hold.

* * *

"Hey – how'd the party go?" Remus asked as Sirius and Jo glared at one another, just as they had been doing for the past thirty minutes.

"I am never going on another date with him again!" Hermione declared before going up the stairs two at a time. Remus and Sirius blinked at him as Jo slipped upstairs after her.

"I – It wasn't a date," James attempted feebly.

"Well what the hell happened?" Sirius asked as James sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, rubbing his eyes underneath the glasses.

"It was going good until the Hendersons came," he muttered.

"_The_ Hendersons?" Remus gaped.

"We only saw and caught Susan – the mom? Anyway, Hermione freaked out, although I can't blame her. I think she might hate me now."

"Well, why would she hate you?" Sirius questioned.

"Because she told me earlier that she saw them and I ignored it," he muffled behind his hands with a wince.

"James!" Remus and Sirius sounded at him in sync.

"Yeah," James placed his head on the counter, "Kill me now."

* * *

Hermione stared up at the stars; her bare feet placed firmly against the roof as the wing lazily blew threw her hair. She wrapped her arms around her for warmth, staring at her knees for a moment before going back to the stars. She was never a very outdoors-y person, although she found comfort in the quiet of the woods or when everything was asleep. Being deep in the heart of the woods, away from her troubles, calmed her, and she'd been slipping onto the roof at night for the double effect for a few weeks. She thought nobody had noticed her slipping out and sitting on the roof for a few hours.

She was quickly proven wrong by somebody coming up behind her with a sheepish grin at her. "Room for one more up here?"

She blinked at James before shrugging, letting him scoot over next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments, staring up at the celestial bodies before James spoke.

"I'm really sorry that I didn't listen to you about the Hendersons," he said, looking at his knees with a frown, his arms wrapped lazily around them, "I've kept going over and over it about a million times, and each time I keep thinking why didn't I take you home? And what could've happened if you hadn't kicked her off? And it would've been all my fault, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Hermione."

"I'm sorry," she admitted, "I snapped at you when I shouldn't have. I liked going to the party with you, James. I'm sorry I freaked out."

He gave her a smile, making her smile back at him before he reached back behind him and started to unfold a blanket wrapping it around her shoulders as she blinked at him. She leaned against him, looking back at the stars as he rubbed her arm.

"Thanks, James," she said after a few moments. He laid his head on top of hers, squeezing her shoulder.

"You're welcome."

* * *

**I'm really sorry that this isn't up to its best. I'm on cold medicine and it's one in the morning and I feel dizzy even though I'm laying down.**


	11. Scrambled Eggs and Toast

**I know I need to slow it down but thanks to _mekom_ for reminding me. **

* * *

"But – "

"_No,_" Hermione insisted, a glare in her eyes.

Sirius pouted, "I just – "

"_No, _Sirius, I will _not_ go to the grocery store with you!" she snapped her book shut, sinking further into the chair and crossing her arms over her chest.

"But we're running out of food and James is still sore from Quidditch and Moony feels sick because the full moon is coming up and I can't be left alone without supervision and you can't be left alone either but not because you can't take care of yourself, like me, you just seem to attract the wrong people – AKA the Hendersons – and please, please, _please!_" Sirius crouched down in front of her chair, hands clasped in a prayer as he pouted, "I've never been to a Muggle store before!"

"I wonder why," Hermione murmured, making James chuckle from the opposite chair, his grin obvious even though his arm was through over his eyes. As Sirius only pleaded more and more with her, she sighed and stood, "Alright, fine. Do you have Muggle money?"

"Yeah!" he zoomed towards a drawer, flinging it open and looking through it.

"Damn," Hermione muttered to herself as James pulled his arm away to look at her, "Thought he wouldn't."

"What's the matter?" James questioned, put his arm back where it had been, "You haven't been out with other people in around a month."

"For obvious reasons," she sighed, "People bug me."

"Well what about us?" Remus asked from the couch.

"There's a dog, a deer, and a werewolf under this roof," she smiled, "If you think you can each classify yourselves entirely as people, you're wrong."

"Was that a compliment?" Remus questioned as James removed his arm from his eyes with a frown.

"I'm a _stag_," he insisted. "Not a deer."

"Deer," she grinned back as Sirius handed her the money and practically skipped out the front door.

"Stag," he repeated.

"Deer!" she sang before sticking her tongue out at him and shutting the door.

James glared at the door before putting his arm over his eyes once more, "I don't know why I even bother with her."

Remus blinked and picked his head up, arching an eyebrow at James. That had sounded entirely too familiar. But…from where?

It'd been fifth year, and James had once again tried to get Lily to go out on a date with him, probably to Hogsmeade or wherever, and she had told him 'no' in a very harsh way. James had frowned after she'd left and put his chin in his hand, saying the exact same thing.

Remus looked very seriously at James. He _seemed_ the same, wasn't trying to make plans or figuring out ways to get her to date him. He seemed tired from Quidditch and upset at being called a deer again, but…that was it. There were no cartoon hearts or doves or anything flying around his head.

Maybe Sirius had been wrong. Maybe it was just a strange coincidence. Maybe James didn't even know it.

Remus stared up at the ceiling, pondering all of these questions, and stayed like that until Sirius and Hermione got back with one paper sack in her arms.

"Is that it?" James asked, blinking at the small amount of groceries.

Hermione looked dully at them, "This was all they would let us buy once Sirius got us kicked out."

Remus and James both turned to look at their friend. Remus spoke first, "Padfoot, how do you get kicked out of a grocery store?"

Sirius opened his mouth, then shut it, then opened it again, "I honestly don't know."

Hermione took out the carton of eggs and the loaf of bread they'd managed to get and studied them with a frown. "I'm thinking scrambled eggs and toast until we find another grocery store, or until one of you two is up to it."

"Did you get kicked out too?" James asked as he stood and she began to get out the frying pan.

Hermione pursed her lips and shut the door of the cabinet, "I'd really rather not talk about it."

The two looked over to Sirius, who slowly nodded with a solemn expression on his face. James bit his lip to keep from smiling, while Remus looked curiously at James before turning to Sirius, who was nodding excitedly at him, as he finally seemed to get what he'd been saying.

* * *

"There is absolutely no way," Remus whispered harshly, "No way that you can see someone and say 'oh, they're perfect for my best friend. Gee, I wonder what they're like?'"

"Look," Sirius smiled, "I can just tell. It's this weird thing I've had since I became an Animagus, dogs have a weird sixth sense or something. I knew something was off with James and Lily, and I actually did more harm than good when James wanted my help in getting them together, but Hermione and James? C'mon! Open up the wolf and see it stronger! I need some freaking help!"

"What do you need help for?" Remus asked, leaning against the bookshelf and glancing quickly at the moon outside as only one sliver remained dark.

"Look, I've never been good at this whole 'sensibility' thing," he even made the air-quotes, "But you, my friend, tried to help James and I when I planned to screw things up. 'Don't pull off some stupid prank in the library.' 'Don't you dare stand up on the table, Prongs.' 'Prongs, it's two o'clock in the morning, go the hell to sleep.' With your help, this might actually work."

"Look, Sirius," Remus sighed tiredly, "If what you say is really true, then wouldn't they just slowly get together on their own?"

"Yeah, but by that point we'd all be dead," Sirius said before continuing on from his confused look, "By old age. We'd all be eight hundred and seventy-six years old, and by that point it'd just be kind of like 'eh, why bother, I'll die tomorrow anyway.'"

"Padfoot," Remus said seriously, gripping his shoulder and looking him in the eye, "Are you high or something?"

Sirius only glared at him as he grinned.

"Alright, I'll try to think of something when I don't have some feral animal growling in my left brain," Remus sighed, taking another glance at the moon.

"Eh, just deal with it, that's what I do," Sirius grinned and shrugged before jogging up the stairs.

"I still think you're high," Remus muttered after him before heading up the stairs at a much slower pace than his friend.

* * *

**Short, lame, boring chapter. I'm tired and I have a semester test on Monday for freaking _math._ Ugh.**


	12. Curves and Angles

**There shall be an introduction of not one, but _two_ characters that everyone knows in this chapter! So read on and find out who they are!**

* * *

Hermione picked her head up and squinted at her headboard. Yes, there were voices downstairs. One was Sirius's – he was joking about something rather loudly. One was Remus's – he was telling Sirius to stop doing something that included a chair, which meant he might've been tilting it back again. One was James's, although he was laughing, but she didn't know about what. But two other laughs belonged to people she didn't know and, really, two additional laughs to the three wouldn't have added up, no matter how asleep she was. Jo could've been one voice, but that didn't explain the other.

Hermione rolled onto her back and kicked the covers away, pulling on jeans and a jumper before picking her hair out of the back and brushing her teeth quickly before padding barefoot downstairs, an eyebrow arched as she regarded two new persons as the boys blinked at her.

The man had rather wavy brown hair, with blue eyes and a friendly smile, his arm draped across the back of the woman's chair, dressed in what one might describe as 'formal-casual,' and that was the only time that combination of two words ever popped into her head to describe the type of clothing someone wore. A nice button shirt and nice looking jeans and dress shoes.

The woman had short, jaw-length, spiky honey colored hair, bright greens eyes looking up at her as she gave Hermione a big grin, as if she'd known her forever and it was a great prize to see her again. She had on a tank top and jeans, although she had what appeared to be (from the angle that she saw it, as it was draped over the back of her chair) a cape.

"Padfoot," Remus frowned at him, "I thought you put up silencing charms so we wouldn't wake Hermione up."

"Well obviously he didn't put them up _well_," Hermione smiled, making the two and James smile and chuckle as Sirius frowned at her.

"Hermione, this is Alice and Frank, they went to school with us," James introduced, "Alice, Frank, this is Hermione."

"James," Alice tilted her head at him, looking at him curiously, and said in a rather innocent sounding tone, "Why have we never heard of her before?"

Frank snorted and shot a grin to Hermione, who only seemed to look more confused as Alice grinned at James as he frowned at her.

"Have you been talking about me?" Hermione asked as she moved to go get a glass from the cabinet.

"Well we had to explain that you lived here when we told Sirius to put up the faulty silencing charm," James shrugged.

"And then we got carried away on the subject of you," Alice grinned sheepishly as she stood, "Sorry, Love."

Hermione gave a laugh, "It's alright. Hope it was good things."

"Uhh, yeah, sure, let's go with that," Sirius teased, making her bump his hip with hers as she turned to lean against the cabinet with him.

"So, how's magic going, now that I can actually ask you things?" Alice asked, "The boys say you're going through all of the books amazingly fast."

"Am I?" Hermione blinked.

"You started on a third year book by the beginning of one week and by the end you were done with it," Remus shrugged, "Yeah, really fast."

"Well, she doesn't have homework or stupid classmates like we did," Frank shot the three boys a look as they only grinned at him, "She can afford to go at her own pace."

"So how much dueling have they taught you?" Alice asked, but as soon as she saw Hermione's confused expression and the boys' guilty or comprehending expressions, she knew that the answer was immediately _none_. "Oh my Merlin, guys!"

"Well we've been focused on the basics," Remus defended with a wince.

"She needs to know how to fight though!" Alice cried, frowning at them before turning back to Hermione, "Please go get some comfy shoes, I will teach you what they have not."

"Uhm, Alice, we promised my mum that we'd – " Frank began before thinking, "Actually, on second thought, this is way more important than going to Mum's. Yeah, I mean, lives are on the line. She should understand, shouldn't she?"

"Of course," Alice smiled as Hermione got her shoes from the front door and followed her out and into what could possibly be classified as a front yard before it melted into trees. Frank, James, Remus and Sirius all stood by the house and watched them. "Alright, now even if the boys had thought to teach you this, they wouldn't be able to teach you correctly."

"Why?" Hermione questioned.

Alice smiled and waved Frank over, "Frank, come down here, be my demonstration."

Frank winced, "Nah, I'm good."

"Frank," she frowned, making him groan and stand on the other side of Alice.

"I hate being your demonstration. I always end up getting hurt."

Alice ignored him as the three watched on with interest, Hermione paying attention, "Now, there are many obvious differences between men and women. These differences continue on in the different genders and make you and I different from each other as well. But most men are made of angles, and most women are made of curves. Sorry to sound sexist, but this is true in some forms, including me and you, and Frank."

"Wait, am I curvy or angular? You didn't leave much context in that," Frank frowned at her, but she continued to ignore him.

"Now, you're rather small and petite and, darling, don't take this the wrong way, I mean you're cute as a button, but people might take that as you're weak," Alice told her and she nodded along in understanding, "But this gives you certain advantages. The element of surprise, for one, and being graceful for another. Small, compact areas, rather difficult maneuvers – do you follow?"

"Mmhmm," Hermione nodded as James tilted his head at her and seemed deep in thought, as if he was suddenly discovering that Hermione indeed _was_ small and petite. Remus and Sirius, however, wanted to see Alice's point in bringing Frank in, and Frank was curious as well.

"Brilliant!" Alice grinned before putting her hand on Frank's shoulder, "Now, see darling Frank over here?"

Frank grimaced, "I really wish I had made James do this instead."

"Frank is a big, strong, tough guy," Alice was grinning rather deviously, and Frank wasn't liking it one bit.

"Frank is gonna land in the dirt, isn't he?" he muttered.

"However, one simple _push_ – " Alice pushed rather hard on Frank's shoulder, sending him back on his bum with a small 'oof,' " – in the right spot and all of that weight is used against him. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, remember that."

"That weight better be muscle!" Frank snapped from the ground.

"Of course, Sweetie," Alice smiled at him before turning back to Hermione, "I can start simply with you and work your way up, if that's alright?"

"Sure," Hermione shrugged as Frank stood and dusted off the seat of his pants, glaring at Alice.

"Great! Thanks, Darling, you've been a brilliant help," Alice pecked Frank on the cheek, reaching up on her tiptoes.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled as the boys chuckled at him.

* * *

"She's brilliant, a really hard worker and a good beginner," Alice told the boys while they tried to figure out what could be edible to serve as dinner.

"The beginner is tired!" Hermione called as she plopped into an arm chair, before thinking better of it and standing up, looking curiously at the four boys sitting on different counters and looking confused. "How 'bout take out?"

James dropped down with a grin at her, "I knew you were smart."

"I'll pass," Remus said, dropping down and grabbing a book that had fallen with him, "Not all that hungry."

Alice put her hands on her hips and frowned at him, "Remus Lupin, you know that you've got a full moon tomorrow night, you need to eat."

"Alice Prew – ooh, sorry, forgot – Longbottom," Remus mimicked, hands on his hips as well, "I'll be fine. I do this all the time and you never ever know."

"Remus!" she dropped her mouth open as he made a smug grin. She turned back to Sirius and James, glaring, "Don't you ever make him eat?"

"Yeah, we've got a feeding tube and everything," Sirius grinned as she made a face. "Honestly, Alice, it's his body. If he wants to starve himself and be an idiot, fine, I don't care."

"Thanks, Padfoot," Remus said dully, "You're a real friend."

"What're you going to do with Hermione tomorrow?" Frank questioned, still sitting on the counter.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, tilting her head as the boys grimaced at him, shaking their heads slightly.

"Well, werewolves don't really like people," Frank shrugged, making them glare at him, "They kind of want to eat them, despite if they're friends or not. Like, all human memories and thoughts and feelings fly out of their heads as soon as they transform."

"Thanks, Mate," Remus glared.

"What?" he asked, honestly curious as to what he'd done wrong.

"So what were you planning on doing with me?" Hermione asked with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to James.

Alice grimaced and grabbed Frank's hand, "You know, we should check in with your mum. Uhh, we'll be by some other time, and I can teach you more, okay? Okay, buh-bye."

"Wait, but – " Frank was cut off as Alice threw him in the Floo, gave a wave, and followed him through.

"Well," James winced at Hermione, "We were trying to send you to Jo's without her asking what was up. Like, plant the idea in her head or something."

"Just because you're worried he'd hurt me?" she snorted.

"Honestly?" James asked, making her nod. "Yes." She gave a huff and rolled her eyes. "Look, Hermione, we can handle it – we can change and the wolf Remus won't see us as a threat. Or, y'know, lunch."

"I'd feel absolutely awful if I hurt you, Hermione," Remus told her.

"You won't hurt me," she snorted before looking at them dully, "Look, you guys go out in the woods during full moons, right?"

"Yeah," they answered.

"So I'll just stay inside," she shrugged, "There, problem solved."

"Ehh," Remus and James chorused, giving each other unsure looks. Sirius shrugged as well, "Alright. You said something about take out?"

"Hah," Hermione grinned at him, "You are _so_ not coming with me."

"But why?" he asked before pouting, "Is it because of the grocery store incident?" At her nod, he huffed, "Look, they shouldn't stack up cans and stuff in the walkways, okay?"

"You acted like you were Godzilla destroying Tokyo, Sirius," Hermione frowned at him. James snorted and tried to hide his laughs behind his arm, Remus biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as well. "Then, you grabbed a blonde woman and acted like King Kong."

"I thought it was funny," Sirius admitted.

"You were the only one who had that mindset," she said drily before going towards the stairs, "I'll go get a jacket, be right back."

"Everything should be fine tomorrow," James said, although he gave another wince at Remus and asked, "Right?"

Remus only shrugged, wincing as well, while Sirius still muttered about the incident at the grocery store as he plopped into a chair.

* * *

**Sooo? What'd you think?**


	13. Stupidly Shiny

**I know I said I'd slow down _but it seems nearly impossible._ **

**Somebody hit the brakes for me.**

* * *

"You're gonna lock the doors, right?"

"Yes."

"And go upstairs, right?"

"Yes."

"And you're going to use that charm I showed you on the windows, right?"

Hermione gave another sigh, "Yes, Remus." She shot him a smile, "Look, I'll be fine, I promise. James and Sirius will be there with you, so there should be no problems. And if there are, I'll tell you how freaked out I was about it afterwards, alright?"

"But what if – "

"Look," she grabbed his shoulder and looked up at him, "You're going to make yourself sick if you keep worrying like this. I'm fine, I'll be fine, and you can take that to the bank. Now head on out there and howl at the moon or whatever it is werewolves do when they change."

Remus still looked doubtful, but James gave a laugh and clapped him on the shoulder, "C'mon, Moony, you've all but barricaded her in the basement."

"Can we do that?" he questioned, "That might actually be – "

"_No_," James and Hermione frowned, Sirius chuckling behind them, by the front door. James turned Remus around and began pushing him towards the door, pushing him out of it and shooting Hermione a grin and a wink. "See you later." And with that, he shut the door and left her alone for probably the first time in that house. She stepped forward and locked it, biting her lower lip as she thought.

* * *

"You okay?" Hermione asked, just a few hours after midnight, as Sirius deposited Remus on the couch, leaning her head over the back and tucking her hair behind her ear. Remus was cut up in several areas, but not bad enough to panic. Still, she felt the need to ask.

Remus gave a wince before giving a tired grin, "Yeah, I'm okay. I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm fine." He squinted before looking over to Sirius, "Where's James?"

"Ahh, now Moony," Sirius began, "You got to remember – you weren't in control."

"What'd I do?" he sat up, urgent and alert as Hermione blinked at Sirius.

"Relax," Sirius tried, "You didn't kill him."

"Where is he?" Hermione asked before the front door opened and James walked in, grabbing his shoulder with a wince. His shirt sleeve was red, and he had a few cuts on his face, but his shoulder seemed to take the brunt of it.

"Oh my God," Hermione and Remus chorused as she moved to see the injury better, but realized that she had no way to fix it and took a step back.

"My own fault," James laughed, although it seemed forced as he sat down in the armchair, "I pissed you off. Should've known better."

"Did I - ?" Remus started to ask before he cut him off, already trying to take his shirt off to get at the wound.

"Nah, you didn't bite me," James told him before hissing and promptly dropping his shirt, "Y'know what? It'll be fine. Just let it heal naturally."

Hermione frowned and asked James with her hands on her hips, "How fond are you of that shirt?"

"Not very, why?" he asked as Sirius started up the stairs to get various potions.

She turned to the kitchen and brought a pair of scissors out of the drawer, sitting on the arm of the chair as he looked warily at her. She grabbed his shirt and started cutting, slowing down when she got closer to his shoulder. Remus watched worriedly as Sirius came back and saw what she was doing, giving a smile at her as James bit the inside of his cheek as she began to pull the fabric away from his skin.

"Thanks, Hermione," Sirius said for him, taking her seat as she went to put the scissors in the sink, returning to watch as Sirius hummed and poured the potions on his skin, making him nearly jump out of his seat.

"Sweet Merlin, Padfoot, you ever heard of the word 'gentle'?" he seemed to shout.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't use it to describe me," he grinned before slapping him on the other shoulder, making him wince. "Consider it punishment for being so stupid."

"What'd he do?" Remus asked, Hermione nodding along as she sat down next to him.

"Thought it was smart to turn human for a second to look at something," James muttered dully, "It wasn't."

"What was so important that you had to turn human?" Hermione questioned.

"Something that required the use of hands, and it was shiny," James hummed as she snorted and frowned at him.

"That's the dumbest excuse ever," she said.

"I never said it was sma-_art!_" he lurched forward, to further escape whatever torture Sirius was gleefully putting him through.

"You made a funny noise, Prongs!" Sirius grinned as Remus rolled his eyes and looked dully at Hermione.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my best friends," he proclaimed, waving his hand out to include James, Sirius, and even Hermione, although he doubt she noticed.

James moved to the ottoman, glaring at his friend, "Ladies and gentlemen, my _ex_-best friend, Sirius Black!"

"Aww, Prongsie, that hurts," he pouted, still on the arm of the chair.

"Yeah? So did that," he pointed at the potion before turning to Hermione, "You're the only one tonight that hasn't hurt me."

She could only sigh and shake her head at him, slowly gaining a smile.

Sirius plopped further into the cushion of the chair, "Leave it on there for two minutes and you should be fine."

"Mmkay," James said as he moved to the floor and lay down on his stomach, shutting his eyes and placing his chin on his folded arms. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked over to Remus, blinking when she saw that his eyes were closed as his fist propped his head up. She turned over to Sirius, who gave her a tired smile as he rubbed an eye.

"We get tired," he whispered.

"I can see," she smiled as she whispered back, leaning against the armrest of the couch closest to him and shutting her eyes as well.

* * *

**_"First it's lights out, then its lock up, masterpieces serving maximum sentences, it's their own fault for being timeless, there's a price to pay and a consequence." – Regina Spektor, "All the Rowboats"_**


End file.
